Chattanooga Airport Goes Solar

2019 has been a big year for solar power. In June, the Chattanooga metropolitan airport in Tennessee became the first airport in US to go 100% solar. Powered by a 2.74-megawatt solar panel installation the size of 16 football fields and battery storage allows off-grid function. 

The solar-powered system generates enough solar electricity to power about one hundred and sixty thousand light bulbs. This energy is stored within on-site batteries that allow the solar-powered system to continue operating without constant sunlight. Nearly 50 airports world-wide have contacted or visited them to learn more about their solar energy operations.

Though the Chattanooga metropolitan airport is the first airport in the United States to be powered solely by solar power, there are plenty of airports that use solar panels to satisfy some of their power needs. Some of the notable ones are;

The Indianapolis International Airport that has a solar panel installation that produces 17.5 megawatts of solar energy. The solar farm has 87,488 solar panels attached to a tracking system to maximize the sun’s output.

The Denver international airport has 4 solar panel installations that total over 10 MW with 42,358 solar panels with a single-axis tracking system to track the sun and maximize the energy production.

San Diego also has a 5.5 MW solar-powered system with 3,780 Yingli solar panels and 13,984 Sungrow solar panels. The solar panels are paired with 32 Sungrow solar power inverters and 40 SMA solar power inverters.

What airport do you think will be the next to be powered by 100% solar energy, comment and let us know.